I would love to combine the advantages of taking my family members out on this awesome multi-purpose boat, so I can teach them to sail... They won't go themselves, and I would love to take them. Like the Oasis, but want the larger sail, and stability of the Adventure Island.
Is engineering looking for upgrade ideas beyond fixes?

Yes, well a tandem is the perfect next step right? We are looking at the idea and have tried a few concepts. Not as easy as we thought, so we are deep into R&D with nothing yet to share. We'll let you know when we get it right!

How about an "upgrade" to connect 2 AI's, side by side.
Maybe with some ball mounts on the aka supports to allow movement of the akas(?) bars between the two boats and cross "wires" (X) to keep them in position. And a trampoline between, of course.

We just recently attended a boatshow in Sacramento, CA and displayed a new AI as well as a number of other Hobies. Most of the people who saw the AI had never heard of it or seen such a thing. They were all interested but, without exception, every person asked if there was going to be a two-seater. I think the demand is clearly there. If the engineering can be worked out, I think it will be a very popular product.
Todd Craig
Manager, Inland Sailing Company
www.inland-sailing.com

Really happy to see this being discussed. I have an AI and I love it. What a great concept, a clever multi-purpose boat. The biggest weakness of the AI is that it is designed as a one man boat. Now I have taken my wife out sailing with me on it. She sits in the cargo area behind the seat. It actually works better than you would think, but I know it is not comfortable for long periods of time. But it gets us out on the water together.

The perfect AI to me would be 18' to 20' long. It would have tandem Mirage drives and seating for 3 or 4. It would maintain the Ama/Aka setup for ease and versatility, serious netting included. It would have a roller furling mast, Bravo size or bigger. It would be a simple plastic trailerable Tri-ack. It could be used to fish, dive, sail, camp or just play on the water. Yes, it would probably be slower than Hobie's current catamarans. But it would be safer, simpler and more fun for more people. Where I live, people buy safe simple fun.

As I said earlier, build it and I will order the first one..... and I can't wait.

I think recolon's idea of two AIs side-by-side is best. The problem with traditional tandems is that someone has to be behind the other (not very conducive to chating and enjoying time on the water together)!

Probably would be best to be used with a single rudder so that there's no "fights". The only problem is to get the braces between the boats.

Matt, if I get a second AI, the factory make a special set of braces using cut-off akas welded in the middle? This would be way cool!

It's great to get all this feedback as this is a great progression! I would hate to see us put two A/I's beside each other - as the Tri-Foiler has already been done - and unfortunately extinct. Thanks for all your interest and responses! I will be happy to see this version produced, already sold; and second purchase based on the posts listed! Let me know if you need some beta field testing, I'm very willing to help, and can't wait till this cold spell leaves NY. Think SPRING

I would love to see a tandem AI. That was the first question that we asked our dealer when we bought the AI. My other half already had a little 10 foot trimaran before I got my AI. We really wanted a tandem and considered it a much less desireable solution to have two single trimarans. We're still having a blast with the two boats, but it would be sooo much more fun to be on the same boat. I do take advantage of the folding amas on the AI to visit with her. I fold one of the amas in and ride up between one of her amas and the vaka. We've even used both of our sails at the same time in light winds. Side by side is the way to go. I like the idea of two vakas side by side. A kit to mate two single AIs sounds like a great idea. That still leaves the flexibility of sailing as singles. What an awesome boat that would be!

If a different tandem boat is designed, is there a possibility of a trade-in upgrade program???

I would buy a kit to mate 2 Islands side by side if they made one. Already have the 2 Islands.

I think 2 Islands side-by-side would mean leaving home all the amas and outer akas. 2 sails, 2 drives, 2 Islands and a kit to tie em together.

I built a rig to tie 2 sports together side by side using a single Hobie sail - it was pretty neat, but a little slow.

I think Hobie could design a kit for 2 Islands faster/easier than designing a whole new kayak tandem. Even if they didn't bother tying the 2 rudders together. The 2 riders could just coordinate their rudder & sail movement - a team effort, a dance together on the water - if I am allowed to wax poetic.

Wife and I have had hours of fun sailing beside each other and by each other in diffent direction, and around in circles that to me feels like dancing.

Love the idea of the tandem kit. Sometimes I'm out by myself and one would want a single Island for that.

I like TwinAdventure idea too but i think that if you already have two AI you dont need Hobie to do the job it should be very easy to create a frame to join the AKAs center bars of two AIs i bet that even a wood structure will work great.

I like TwinAdventure idea too but i think that if you already have two AI you dont need Hobie to do the job it should be very easy to create a frame to join the AKAs center bars of two AIs i bet that even a wood structure will work great.

Absolutely correct and an interesting thought. I just would not want to experiment too much on stressing the framing structure of 2 Islands & risk damaging both boats. 2 parallel bars would also need some hefty crossbracing.

All things considered, I would much rather Hobie take all the risk in design and development and then provide a final tried & tested product.

This is my first post at the forums, so let me introduce myself. I live by the coast of the Pacific in ViÃ±a del Mar, Chile, and I bought the first two AI that arrived to Chile on November 2006, so I have shared with all of you the satisfaction of owning these great fun inventions.

I believe a tandem made with two AI side by side would not improve the sailing experience, since one sail will shadow the other, making it slower than two independent AI.

A succesful tandem must be faster, ride drier on heavier seas and winds than the AI, have plenty of below deck cargo capacity for long expeditions, and still be easy to deploy from car to water and be light to be portaged by its crew of two.

In short, the challenge is not simple, since Hobie has to come out with something better than the existing Windrider 17, whose main draw backs are price and long time needed for assembly, besides not having two mirage drives, of course!

For this goal I would try to design a thin and high wave piercing hull form, sit on top, tandem mirage drive, rotomolded version. Such a high draft plastic hull would sacrifice the possibility of use without amas, since it would not have positive stability by itself, but it would not require a daggerboard either. Another advantage of such a deep V hull is that the mirage drives would work more efficiently in it, since the axis section of the fins would be shadowed and also protected by the keel, and the sweep angle of each blade can be increased much over than the current 180 degrees at the AI.

As we know, with any given sail area, or fixed human power, a longer hull makes a faster boat than a shorter hull, so the over all length must be increased to near or over 19 feet, just short enough to be packed and shipped inside a typical 20 feet container (for export to Chile of course ), and it still would be possible to be car topped by two persons and adequate accesories.

For cost reduction, fast assembly and speed I would power it with two sets of the existing self roller, self standing carbon fiber mast of the AI. This sail arrangement, besides doubling the effective sail area, keeping the same mast length, would require less rudder force, which further improves speed.